Meanings
- attributivenot comparablebegging the question; logically circular.
They got sick of his question-begging punditry.
2 more examples
Vulgarity is a stupid, superficial, question-begging accusation, which has become today the easiest refuge of mediocrity.
1886 [1882], Henry James, The Point of View, London: Macmillan and Co.On traction, the Report adds little to existing knowledge, save a question-begging observation that "enough experience has been gained on electric and hydraulic transmission systems to enable conclusions to be drawn on the relative merits of each."
1962 August, “British Railways in 1961—a working loss of £87 million”, in Modern Railways, page 91
- uncountableThe act of begging the question.
Origin
From begging the question. First attested in the nineteenth century.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
question-begging. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/question-begging
“question-begging.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/question-begging. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “question-begging,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/question-begging.
Source: question-begging on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.